North Korea Warns Foreigners to Get Out

"If you look at the actual messages, they are being rolled out by different institutions, different actors so we see different spokesmen," Daniel Pinkston of the International Crisis Group said.

As the core of North Korea's central powers intentionally feed a crisis situation, Pinkston detects a round of "demonstrating loyalty" going on within the regime by various organizations.

"That's the way to survive when you have a new leader in the scene," he said.

Another reason for ratcheting up tensions is the ultimate use of brinksmanship to achieve its goal of dealing directly with the United States, experts say.

"It's personal. North Korean people call him a 'kid' and he doesn't carry the status as a true leader," said Yoon Sang-Hyun, a South Korean ruling party lawmaker. "This 'kid' is in charge of 24 million North Koreans, so from his point of view, he needs to create an image of himself going head on with a superpower like the United States."